New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, fell 15 cents to $95.59 a barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December shed 15 cents to $112.16.

"Prices are down because of the overall sentiment in the market, it could be due to lingering concerns over the European debt problem," said Ker Chung Yang, commodity analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Ongoing political turmoil in debt laden Greece and Italy dragged down the euro as well as European and US bourses as International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned of a potential "downward spiral" in the global economy.

But Ker said crude was being supported by oil inventory reports issued by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday showing a sharper than expected fall in stockpiles.

"The EIA is saying that crude stocks are falling more than expected, it's kind of a boost factor for crude," he told AFP.